Posted on 05/25/2022 7:37:43 PM PDT by blam
The last thing consumers want to hear is an increase in power costs this summer following the news last week of rising threats of rolling blackouts across half of the US.
Tight supplies of natural gas, crude, and coal have pushed up residential electricity rates this year. A nationwide weather outlook for this summer forecasts extreme heat — all of this will force households to crank up their air conditions, resulting in oversized power demand that could stress national grids.
Bloomberg cites new data from Barclays Plc that says monthly power bills could be 40% more than last year’s. The US Energy Information Administration expects retail residential electricity rates to increase the most since 2008.
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Miami households spent 38% more on energy in April than a year ago. Power prices in the state have jumped due to the rising cost of natgas.
“Our continued overreliance on gas only sets us up for these burdensome and unnecessary rate increases.
“This business model is unsustainable, and it’s hurting people,” said Natalia Brown of Catalyst Miami, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group.
Besides Miami, parts of Hawaii, Dallas, Minneapolis, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco recorded the highest increases in retail electricity costs last month.
Barclays analyst Srinjoy Banerjee said the average residential power bills averaged $122 in April. He pointed out that power bills could raise another $49 due to natgas prices soaring over $8 per million British thermal units.
Consumers can’t escape the inflation storm that only suggests a summer of hell is ahead. Gasoline and diesel prices are at a record, food prices are screaming higher, homes and cars are unaffordable, and real wage growth is negative.
Banerjee said the inflation burden “disproportionately falls on lower-income groups.”
In California, higher costs for electricity and less reliable electric grids mean consumers will pay on average 25% more this summer, according to Cisco DeVries, chief executive officer of OhmConnect Inc., which helps households save money by remotely adjusting thermostats.
The cost of everything is rising and has pushed consumers to the brink. Many have maxed out credit cards and drained critical savings to survive this terrible economic backdrop of what appears to be stagflation which could quickly morph into a Federal Reserve-induced recession due to aggressive interest rate hikes.
Then there’s the risk of rolling blackouts across the Great Lakes to the West Coast due to tight power supplies may not be able to satisfy demand amid a megadrought.
Some Americans could get a nasty dose of high inflation and power blackouts, similar to life in Venezuela.
No air conditioning here. Still snow on the ground. My electric bill is still high, though.
Wait till more people plug in their battery cars 🤪
Hold on kids, this party is about to start rockin like the late 70’s, but with crappy music
The Rolling blackouts are possible because the climate a-holes have shut down power plants all over the country at the same time forcing people into electric cars.
We are surrounded by nukes here.
Too bad they’re shutting about half of them down.
Idiots.
L
Looking at that graph things were fine under President Trump.
But the experts tell me spending more for the same goods is good for that mysterious thing called “the economy”. Your standard of living means nothing.
Maybe it was good that Biden stole the election after all. People need to understand what’s really going on. You know if Trump would have gotten a 2nd term, the same harassment crap and lawsuits and rulings from judges would have stopped or stalled his agenda anyway. Now people are getting screwed under Biden & a Democrat Congress so they can’t pin this on the GOP.
And bad haircuts.
[[following the news last week of rising threats of rolling blackouts across half of the US.]]
Gee- what a p erfect time to go all electric everything- cars, heating, stoves, etc- gosh won’t that be grand? Think rolling blackouts are bad now? Just wait till electric cars are mandated-
Not only fine under Trump but improving.
Caused 100% by Biden.
It won’t be the Neocons (Ukraine supporters) showing up at your front door to drive you out of your house and into high-density apartments, it will be your power and heating bill, at least for most people.
“We are surrounded by nukes here.
Too bad they’re shutting about half of them down.
Idiots.”
What makes you think they’re idiots? After all, this is EXACTLY what they want, and they’ve worked their way into the positions of power needed to pull it off.
“Hold on kids, this party is about to start rockin like the late 70’s, but with crappy music”
You ain’t lyin’. And we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
And none of this had to happen.
Here in southwest Colorado electric bills will be going up 26%.
“Here in southwest Colorado electric bills will be going up 26%.”
Last year, I locked in about 11 cents per kwh for 3 years here in Texas. Now the cheapest contract is 15.4 cents, the last time I checked. That’s up 40%. Again, per plan.
After delivery and taxes, I’m paying 25.5 cents. Long Island.
“After delivery and taxes, I’m paying 25.5 cents. Long Island.”
Yep, per plan. The Northeast is a bit ahead of the game as they’ve always been electing Great Reset. In the case of New York State, at least, Canada was very willing to sell cheap Hydroelectric power, but since that was against the plan (since hydro power is cheap and reliable), the state wouldn’t permit the power lines to be built.
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